About 15 months after the prosecution began investigating the ‘SM stock price manipulation suspicion,’ they have secured the custody of Kim Beom-su, Chairman of Kakao’s Management Innovation Committee. The court’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Chairman Kim, a conglomerate head, citing ‘risk of flight’ as the reason is considered unusual. This has drawn attention to the background of the issuance of this arrest warrant.
Kakao founder and Management Innovation Committee Chairman Kim Beom-su, considered the pinnacle of the 'SM market manipulation' suspicion, is attending the pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing) held on the 22nd at the Southern District Court in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
The issuance of the arrest warrant by the Seoul Southern District Court was announced around 1:10 a.m. on the 23rd. The warrant hearing, held around 2 p.m. on the 22nd, concluded after about 3 hours and 30 minutes, but it took over 7 hours to decide whether to detain him. Judge Han Jeong-seok, who was in charge of the warrant, stated, "There is a concern that evidence may be destroyed and a risk of flight."
The issuance of a pre-indictment arrest warrant during the investigation stage can be seen as a judgment that the prosecution has provided a basic explanation of the charges. Judge Han considered it very unusual for a well-known conglomerate head to have a ‘risk of flight.’ Judge Han was also the judge who issued the arrest warrant for Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong during the 2017 political scandal investigation.
There are various interpretations regarding the court’s mention of ‘risk of flight.’ When the prosecution requested Chairman Kim’s arrest warrant on the 17th, they stated, "We have secured sufficient human and material evidence related to the conspiracy to manipulate stock prices." It is known that Lee Junho, Head of Kakao Entertainment’s Investment Strategy Division and one of the key figures, testified during the prosecution’s investigation that he received ‘Chairman Kim’s confirmation (approval)’ regarding the stock price manipulation.
However, Chairman Kim’s side has consistently and strongly denied the charges. A legal insider explained, "Even with clear material evidence, if the suspect firmly denies the crime, it may appear that there is a risk of flight due to their attitude toward the investigation." There is also an analysis that the issuance of the arrest warrant is because if guilt is recognized in future trials, there is a high possibility of a heavy sentence. Generally, suspects expected to receive heavy sentences are recognized as having a significant risk of flight to avoid punishment.
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